I don't want to spend to much space on this subject, as it may be off-topic, but I've been curious about this very product for some time. Maybe not the VP50, but one of the DVDO products. Do you see an equally impressive difference in SD broadcast vs SD DVD vs 720p vs 1080i? (I think those are the 4 most common). Is it pretty awesome all the way around? I have a calibrated (just 3 days ago, in fact) Panasonic plasma (new in '05), and can't imagine an image better than network cable HD. Although I wouldn't bet against it! Look forward to your reply.

The old saying, "garbage in, garbage out" applies with just about any VP, but it can make some improvements by eliminating the usually just good enough deinterlacer/scaler function of most STBs. Having the VP50 handle that instead does provide for an improvement as it's arguably the best on the market at that function, certainly better than anything you'll find in a cable or sat STB and in probably most all displays.

The native output ability of the S3 allows the VP50 do all the heavy lifting and can deinterlace and scale to just about any output resolution you want, including but not limited to 1920x1080p.

Is it worth the cost? Hard to say, everyone's needs are different. One of the biggest advantages I like about it the 4 HDMI input since I only have one on my display. Plus, you can calibrate each individual input and input resolution. It's highly versatile.

I suggest you take a look at the threads over at AVS, full of info including participation by DVDO themselves. There's a few different models, including the VP20, VP30 and the flagship, the VP50.

everytime they spit out a new box this seems to happen (a few more recent features like one touch delete and kidzone in this care are missing)- at some point they branch and just work on the feature set in existance at that point. And usually a relatively quick update puts those things back in. It's been posted numerous times that that "even out" download is scheduled for November.

Don't buy the initial release from tivo if you dont want to be missing stuff- just wait a few months till the 'catch up' comes out.

Yes, I'm interested in the "Recently Deleted" folder. KidZone just happens to come along with that. It's exclusion is more of a symbol, to me, of this product being rushed to market.

Most importantly, I'm interested in having the latest code. Maybe it's the principle of it all, after spending $800 for the new TiVo, getting a new HD set for it to shine upon, and revamping my whole home AV setup around it.

The way I see it, it's one thing to be without TiVoToGo and MRV after "upgrading," (and yes, I understand TiVo is waiting for the CableCard people on those fronts) but to be without the latest code and the basic user features I've gotten used to the TiVo providing? That just doesn't sit well with me. I'll wait for the box to "catch up" with those features, maybe a few bugs will get squashed in the meantime, maybe the price of the unit (and HD TV sets in general) will come down a bit, maybe more HD content will start being available and then I'll take the plunge. I'm just not completely sold on the clarion call of High Definition yet, I suppose, and I'm not as much of a couch potato as I used to be. So I'm being more patient, and weighing all the compromises, before I spend money on any kind of AV "upgrade."

Well, knowing a little about multiple product releases with similar code but multiple branches. If they cut a branch to do the S3 code before those features were added (or perhaps they were there but not stable so were turned off), I'd rather release it on that branch (to meet demands and TTM requirements) where I know it is stable. Then I can handle the code merge and QA requirements and get an update later. Personally, I'm going from D* to cable so my only choice would have been to stick with D* and pay a lot more to wire a new house with multiple coax runs or be stuck with a cable co DVR. I'm glad the S3 was out and available.

Just realized and then read here to confirm that the Recently Deleted folder isn't even included yet

C'mon TiVo... how hard is that?!

Considering that this product was first announced a couple of years ago, they would've branched this product out long before Kidzone and the recently deleted folder were born, or at the very least "matured".

Let see......branch the software and work on it separately for this platform for a couple of years in order to release it, oh but while you're at it merge all the new functionality into the software along the way and make sure you don't delay the product release even further. Not bloody likely!

I'm guessing they went with a working platform and will worry about merging back with an update sooner rather than later. Didn't the series2 dual tuner do the exact same thing just a few months ago and get updated shortly thereafter? They don't have to wait for approval from Cable Labs for this to work so I'm betting you should expect it to show up pretty soon.

__________________
"Do not try and bend the spoon. That is impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth......there is no spoon."

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. | To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

I'm a diehard TiVo fan with two S2 units (one with DVD burner), analog only current subscription to Comcast (99 channels) and a older analog-only cable ready 35 inch SDTV. I'm making the upgrade to HDTV for Christmas. I'm currently planning on a TiVo S3 (transferring a lifetime membership) and a Samsung LN-S4696D HDTV unit (46 inch LCD with integrated digital tuner which makes it Digital Cable Ready (DCR) having a CableCard slot).

I've read several places that an analog-only subscription such as mine usually has in-the-clear digital channels above Channel 99 and after checking the Comcast website for my area and the channels listed on my plan this seems to case for me. Obviously I've never seen any of these digital channels with either the S2 TiVos or my current SDTV.

I've also read the following facts that make me want to avoid having to upgrade from my current analog Comcast subscription to a digital one if at all possible:

1. DCR HDTVs like the Samsung I'm planning to get will pick up in the clear digital channels without a Cablecard via direct connection to the coaxial cable, and that the resulting picture quality is SIGNIFICANTLY better than if the digital decoding is left to a cheap Comcast issued set top box (STB) which then feeds decoded video signals to the HDTV instead.

2. A TiVoS3 without any CableCards inserted will manually tune to, correctly decode, and allow manual time/channel recording of unencrypted in-the-clear digital channels. However, operation in this mode will result in no stored channel data, Season Passes, Wish Lists, etc.

Questions:

1. Assuming my digital cable channels are indeed unencrypted, does this all mean that I can keep my Comcast analog subscription, not request any Cable Cards from Comcast or even call them to tell them I'm hooking up any of this gear, hook up the S3 and the DCR HDTV to my coax cable, hook up an OTA antenna, run the S3 channel search to load Channel List for the OTA and analog channels, set up Season Passes etc for the OTA HDTV and analog cable channels, then view the cable digital channels (including the HDTV ones) by punching in the correct channel number above 99 on the S3 controller while watching "Live TV" thru the S3, and manually set up channel/time recording on the S3 for the digital cable channels, including the cable HDTV channels? Any gotchas here anybody cares to point out as long as I'm willing to live without Season Passes and Channel List for the digital cable channels?

2. If all of this is true, what's inserting a CableCard into the S3 got to do with enabling Season Passes? The function of the CableCard as I understand it is to allow decryption to authorized users. If the digital signal is already in-the-clear, there's nothing for the CableCard to do, right? How come my initial "call to the TiVo mothership" with an S3 doesn't result in the download of a digital channel list for my zip code like it does for the S1 and S2 and their analog channel list? How come my weekly calls to Tivo for analog channel schedule info for my cable provider doesn't include similar schedule info for the digital channels right above them in the list?

3. It appears that there is an S3 menu toggle to define whether the S3 outputs 720p or 1080i as its HD signal, with the SD signal being 480p in either case. Am I correct in assuming that the S3 stores HD data in the same format as which it is originally broadcast, or does this menu toggle cause conversion to the selected format for a dissimilar HD broadcast before storage onto the hard drive? If the former, does this imply that you should always be aware of the original format the HD program you're about to watch via S3 playback and manually toggle this menu switch before viewing to get the s3 output to match the original input format for optimal video? Or does the S3 switch automatically between 720p and 1080i output to match the original input signal type?

Your plan depends completely on what Comcast is sending down the line in your particular location; something that can change at any moment on Comcast's whim. At the moment, I'm doing exactly what you're planning (analog + OTA). The S3 TiVo can detect 450+ "channels", but the only ones that I get both audio and video for are the 70 music channels. I get video for a dozen other channels, but no audio. The rest are presumably encrypted. People in other locations get more channels in the clear.

To answer your point 2, the mapping of internal digital channel to external station id is again entirely at Comcast's whim, and they don't publish it (and do change it). Thus there's no way for TiVo to reliably give a schedule. Search for QAM in this forum for more details.

1: Yes, you can record digital cable channels manually without CableCards.

2. CableCard maps physically channels to logical channels used by the program guide database. Without that mapping, TiVo does not give you the guide data. In my area, two CableCards cost me just $1.50/month. Personally, I wouldn't use TiVo without guide data.

3. Digital streams are recorded as is. Display format is converted at playback time.

Hiker, where/how did you buy the Warrentech warranties? I tried calling Warrantech themselves and they said to buy from a retailer...but wouldn't tell me which ones they are partnered with.

I did see a quote for an RMV5750 warranty at electronicoutfitters.com but they didn't seem to know anything about it, even though they are selling it (!). The price, BTW, was $51.18, which seems pretty good.

Also, these warranties are all described as "DOP" warranties --- can you tell me what that means?

Hiker, where/how did you buy the Warrentech warranties? I tried calling Warrantech themselves and they said to buy from a retailer...but wouldn't tell me which ones they are partnered with.

I did see a quote for an RMV5750 warranty at electronicoutfitters.com but they didn't seem to know anything about it, even though they are selling it (!). The price, BTW, was $51.18, which seems pretty good.

Also, these warranties are all described as "DOP" warranties --- can you tell me what that means?

1: Yes, you can record digital cable channels manually without CableCards.

2. CableCard maps physically channels to logical channels used by the program guide database. Without that mapping, TiVo does not give you the guide data. In my area, two CableCards cost me just $1.50/month. Personally, I wouldn't use TiVo without guide data.

3. Digital streams are recorded as is. Display format is converted at playback time.

Just wanted to say thanks, this helped me.

__________________

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

hmmm, looks like TiVo reorged their site. None of the links to anything on the TiVo site work anymore.

Yeah, annoying.

I'm back, miss me? I'll try to get the FAQ updated soon to fix that and some other stuff.

__________________
-MegaZone, Editor, To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. | To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. | To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. | To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

everytime they spit out a new box this seems to happen (a few more recent features like one touch delete and kidzone in this care are missing)- at some point they branch and just work on the feature set in existance at that point. And usually a relatively quick update puts those things back in. It's been posted numerous times that that "even out" download is scheduled for November.

Exactly, it is just standard development. I've seen this many times, even for companies I've worked for. You have to branch the code to produce a new product and add the feature particular to that product. In the meantime the existing products get updates. Normally you ship your stable code, then work on merging the codebases again to equalize the features. That's where TiVo is now.

One caveat - I don't know where the 'November' thing came from, but TiVo specifically told me NOT to say November, that it would be 'later this year'. Obviously, since we're in December, it didn't come out in November. :-)

__________________
-MegaZone, Editor, To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. | To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. | To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. | To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

I might be smeeking here, but MZ, you might want to update the FAQ to reflect the fact that you no longer need to buy the S3 direct from tivo.com in order to qualify for the VIP Lifetime transfer.

And the current software version is 8.0.1b.

Yep. I've been kind of tied up for a bit, didn't login here for two months. I'm trying to catch up now.

__________________
-MegaZone, Editor, To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. | To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. | To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. | To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.